Nokia's HERE division revealed it is powering a range of connected car features for Volvo Cars under a multi-year agreement signed earlier this year. HERE is enabling Volvo to offer an in-car control system named Sensus by providing the car manufacturer with access to its location cloud. Volvo's first Sensus-equipped car was its latest XC90, which began shipping earlier in 2015, offering drivers access to smart guidance services that can be presented via a heads-up display. In a statement, the navigation company said it is enabling Volvo to offer its customers access to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) by providing …

Since Amazon first talked about its plan to one day deliver packages by drone, the world has been captivated with that vision of the future. But a new company started by two of Skype’s cofounders thinks the real future of small cargo delivery is in autonomous robots. Founded by Skype cofounders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, Starship Technologies is today unveiling its vision of a delivery robot, a small, six-wheeled device capable of carrying as much as 20 pounds up to a mile or more from a central service hub.

Sephora’s newest retail concept is a bricks-and-mortar connected boutique that creates a disruptive shopping experience via interactive in-store tablets, phone-charging stations and a selfie mirror. The beauty giant has rolled out its first Sephora Flash boutique in Paris as it ramps up to reach the pinnacle of customer experience via a mobile-connected design. While it still offers its vast array of cosmetic products, the store is also equipped with a digital catalog and discovery tablets to help shoppers explore coveted beauty looks and experiment with new products.

Sports Authority brings personal training to mobile users’ phones in an application that serves as a companion for the Body Fit product line, driving sales while preserving the retailer’s presence in fitness content. The sporting goods retailer is hoping to push its BodyFit collection with the training app, attempting to capitalize on the growing interest in mobile fitness. The BodyFit app brings numerous workout videos to users’ mobile devices, including tutorials on how to use Sports Authority equipment.

Running shorts that talk to you. A dress that adjusts to your mood. A clip-on that acts as a posture coach. They're all part of a growing trend in wearable technology that goes beyond the fitness band and smartwatch to take a proactive role in managing health. The Bay Area is alive with wearable startups and Silicon Valley's largest companies have dived in, seeing a potentially vast market on the horizon. Fitbit, which makes a fitness tracker, went public in June. Intel has engineers working with New York fashion designers on wearable tech and sponsored a "Make it Wearable" contest which CEO Brian Krzanich …

Connected devices allow advertisers to deliver the right information to the right consumer at the right time. However, if we consider the current scenario, advertisers send spam to registered consumers’ accounts irrespective of the targeted consumer, which doesn’t add any value to their efforts. Through the Internet of Things, advertising companies will become better at identifying their consumers’ needs on a real-time basis.

Internet giant Alphabet Inc, the new holding company for Google, expects to begin delivering packages to consumers via drones sometime in 2017, the executive in charge of Google's drone effort said on Monday. David Vos, the leader for Google's Project Wing, said his company is in talks with the Federal Aviation Administration and other stakeholders about setting up an air traffic control system for drones that would use cellular and Internet technology to coordinate unmanned aerial vehicle flights at altitudes of under 500 feet (152 meters). "Our goal is to have commercial business up and running in 2017," he told …

Stroll the aisle at Home Depot or some other big box store these days and it can be hard to miss the so-called "Internet of Things": thermostats, refrigerators, light bulbs. If you're not familiar with the concept, here's one explainer from CNN and another from Digital Trends. In a hefty analysis of this growing industry last week, Ars Technica built a case not only for why IoT is the darling of so many business spheres but also what it means for our cyber and physical security:

Since Facebook and YouTube introduced 360-video along with hardware devices from Google, Samsung and Microsoft, marketers are stepping up efforts to leverage virtual reality to connect with consumers, showing the technology’s potential beyond gaming. Virtual reality was originally thought to be a huge innovation within the video game industry, but brands have unlocked its potential for marketing through various video and interactive experiences. 

Many of us are lucky: Our cities are getting make-overs. No, not in preparation for winter -- these updates transcend repairing potholes. Local and state governments are looking to usher our cities into the 21st century by converting them to smart cities. And as this process unfolds, businesses that specialize in the Internet of Things, or IoT, will reap the benefits. Let's look at three companies that are well positioned to profit. Keep the meter running. One company at the forefront of modernizing our cities is Itron. Offering city planners a range of solutions, Itron has evolved significantly from its founding 40 years ago as …